


Unravel, Unmake Yourself

by Branithar



Series: Threaded Together [1]
Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Chronic Illness, Demons, Dom/sub, Incubus Ashton, M/M, Succubi & Incubi, Supernatural Elements, Trans Male Character, Vampire Michael, Vampires, Werewolf Calum, Werewolf Luke, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-06
Updated: 2020-10-18
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:54:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25105786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Branithar/pseuds/Branithar
Summary: Luke is getting sicker with every full moon, Ashton keeps being called to Hell, Calum is anxious about his upcoming surgeries going badly and Michael feels lucky that the worst thing happening to him is having to buy blood instead of feed exclusively from his boyfriends. The second-hand stress from everything happening to them is wearing him thin, but surely it can't get worse, can it?
Relationships: Michael Clifford/Luke Hemmings/Calum Hood/Ashton Irwin
Series: Threaded Together [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1821667
Comments: 31
Kudos: 37





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from Introduced Species by Hands Like Houses.

Luke groaned in pain, writhing on the sheets as Michael tried to massage Valgomar ointment into his back. 

“Hold still, dude,” Michael reminded him, failing to keep the worry out of his voice. 

“It’s worse this time,” Calum unhelpfully commented, eyeing Luke as he rubbed the soothing ointment into his ankles. 

Luke and Calum were always wrecked after full moons, but last night’s shift had been Luke’s worst one yet. Calum had pretty much carried him home and hadn’t been able to make it to their room before Luke rushed to the bathroom to throw up. For all Michael’s gentle coaxing and reminders that he desperately needed the calories, he still hadn’t been able to eat anything. 

Michael dipped his fingers into the tub of Valgomar again and rubbed it over his palms. It was supposed to ease post-shift aches, but while it was effective for Calum, he doubted it was intended for whatever was happening to Luke. Neither of them had ever heard of werewolves experiencing this kind of pain for so long after shifts.

“We need to see a doctor,” Calum said as he rubbed at his own aching ribs. 

Michael nodded, struggling to work ointment into Luke’s trembling thigh. “Ashton will book him in for an appointment.” 

He didn’t even have it in him to crack a _speak of the devil,_ joke when Ashton strode in at that moment, finally back from his trip to Hell with painkillers from the bathroom. Michael had thought of giving Luke some earlier, but they’d be useless if he still couldn’t keep anything down. 

Ashton put the bottle on the nightstand and sat against the headboard, pulling Luke into his lap. “Hey baby,” he crooned, gently stroking Luke’s back, “I’m so sorry I’m late, but I’m here now, we’ve got you.” 

Luke grasped at Ashton, chest heaving for air as he buried his face in his stomach. 

“What happened?” Ashton asked Calum. 

“Something was wrong when he shifted out,” Calum told him, a worried edge to his tone, “It always hurts, but it was worse for him this time and when he shifted back he…he didn’t recover right. It kept hurting as bad as it does during the shift.”

“ _Ash,_ ” Luke whimpered. 

“What is it, pup?” Ashton murmured, carding through his sweat-soaked curls. 

“’M thirsty.” 

Calum didn’t need more than a look from Ashton before he was hurrying for the kitchen. 

Michael kept working ointment into Luke’s muscles and joints, hoping that he was calming down because the pain was finally fading, not because he was just too tired to move. 

Ashton looked at the pile of food on the nightstand. “Has he eaten?” 

Michael shook his head. “He threw up when they got back and wouldn’t take anything we tried to give him.” 

Calum returned with his arms full of water bottles, dumping them near the bed and opening one for Ashton before collapsing next to them, exhaustion finally overwhelming him. Michael was impressed that he’d stayed standing this long. 

Ashton held the bottle for Luke as he sipped from it, softly encouraging him as he stroked his cheek and gave him a couple of pills to swallow down. When he was done, Ashton broke off a piece of blueberry muffin. 

“Can you try to eat for me, baby?”

Luke grimaced a little, but opened his mouth for the morsel. 

“Good boy,” Ashton gently praised, ruffling his hair and breaking off another piece, “Think you can have some more?” 

As Ashton fed Luke, Michael put away the ointment, relieved that Luke was finally getting something in his stomach. He didn’t know what they’d do without Ashton. 

Luke didn’t finish the large breakfast, but he at least made it through the muffin and yogurt. It would have to do for now. 

“C’mere,” Ashton said when he noticed Calum, somehow still awake, eyeing him and Luke, opening an arm. 

Calum crawled over and burrowed into his embrace, an arm wrapping around Luke. 

Ashton’s questioning look had Michael cuddling up to Calum in a heartbeat. 

“You okay, baby?”

“Worried.” 

Ashton stroked his hair. “We’re gonna figure it out,” he promised. 

“How did it go?” Michael asked of Ashton’s trip. 

“I was worried sick about him all night,” Ashton murmured, “I didn’t know I was gonna be stuck there so late, sloth demons don’t usually let trials run that long.” 

“Was it serious?” 

Ashton exhaled. “A wrath demon was caught making plans to attack Earth. They had a lot of followers, too. It’s a shame they were so bent on destruction, I’ve never seen such an organised faction in Hell.” 

“Should we be worried?” 

“Nah. Even if they weren’t caught by Hell, they would’ve been taken out pretty easily.” 

“I mean about you.”

Ashton smiled at Michael. “I can protect myself.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been a bit uncreative recently, but because so many people expressed interest in this one I worked hard to finish up this chapter a bit. It's just a short one, but there's more coming some perhaps hopefully.

“Luke’s booked in for Thursday morning,” Ashton told Michael as he took the pot of butter chicken he’d made to the counter.

“Me and Calum taking him in?” Michael asked. 

Ashton spooned some of the food into Calum and Luke’s favourite bowls as the microwave beeped. “I’ll do it. Can you get the rice?”

Michael frowned and took out the rice. “You have work.”

“I’m taking the morning off.” 

Michael sighed. He didn’t want Ashton to get in trouble with his boss, but Luke would need his calming, authorative presence if they got bad news. _Bad news._ That was an unwelcome thought. 

Ashton had Michael take Calum and Luke’s bowls of butter chicken and rice to him in bed, where Ashton had decided Luke would stay until his pain didn’t make him dizzy every time he tried to stand. 

“You guys awake?” Michael asked the mound of sheets softly. 

The mound shifted and Calum peeked out, eyeing the dinner in Michael’s hands. “Is that butter chicken?” He crawled out of the mound and sat up against the headboard to take his bowl from Michael, coaxing Luke out too. 

“How are you?” Michael asked, taking a seat next to Luke and passing Calum’s bowl over. 

“Tired.” He looked like roadkill. 

“You need some protein,” Michael suggested, nodding at the food he was stirring around. 

Ashton always made sure to have a high-protein meal ready after full moons. Luke and Calum usually ate their fills at their pack’s monthly hangis, but it was important to get a good meal or two in before then and Michael wasn’t about to complain about getting more of Ashton’s cooking. 

“You’re going to the hangi tomorrow, right?” Michael checked as he passed Luke his bowl, now that he was thinking about it. 

Luke frowned. “I hope so.” 

“It’s okay if you can’t,” Calum assured him, “They’ll get it.” 

Luke’s frown deepened. Despite legally joining Calum’s pack as his partner in high school and the promises from the other members that he’d still be part of it if they broke up, Luke had always had a fear of doing something wrong and getting kicked out. That anxiety had been why he’d been reluctant to begin a relationship with non-wolf Michael and then Ashton, though the pack had been utterly supportive when he and Calum finally did. They were a lot more progressive than some packs, Michael had heard. 

“Where’s Ash?” Luke asked as they ate. 

“Making food for the hangi,” Michael told him, “Do you want him?” 

Luke shook his head, but Michael knew him well. 

“I’ll go grab him.” 

He bumped into Ashton in the hallway, already making his way to the bedroom with two more bowls of food. 

“You okay?” Ashton asked, handing Michael his.

“Yeah, Luke wants you.”

Ashton nodded and headed in, Michael on his heels. 

As Michael expected, Luke lit up as Ashton entered, making space beside himself for him. 

“I’m taking you to a GP on Thursday,” Ashton told him. 

Luke frowned. “Don’t you have work?” 

“I’m taking the morning off. We can get an early lunch afterwards, yeah?” 

Luke lit up at the prospect of spending time with Ashton. He always got anxious when he had to go to Hell and needed plenty of time with him when he got back. Michael suspected that Luke was afraid Ashton would stop loving him if they were apart too long, an anxiety that he had about most people in his life, even if he rarely expressed it for fear of being too needy. 

At the pack hangi the next day, a lot of people asked how Luke was. He always told them he was aching a bit but fine for the most part, but Michael suspected that everyone knew he was barely keeping it together anyway. He caught a few long looks from packmates when Luke wasn’t looking, saw a few people whisper as they stared. He knew they were just worried, but he hoped Luke didn’t notice. He would definitely assume they were upset with him. 

Michael served himself another helping of potatoes. Hopefully Luke’s trip to the GP tomorrow would bring good news.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long for me to update, I've been in a bit of a ditch recently. I've been getting encouraging comments on this one, so I'm excited about writing it again. Hope you like it!

Michael paced around the house, getting restless every time he tried to start doing _something_ to distract himself. Ashton kept texting updates about what was happening, but they weren’t enough to satisfy him. What if the doctors found out whatever was going on with Luke was serious?

 **They’re taking him in for x-rays** Ashton texted. 

Michael huffed loudly. “What kind of GP even _does_ x-rays?” 

“Chill out, dude,” Calum told him from the couch after checking his own phone, “An x-ray doesn’t mean there’s something bad, I always get them when I’m sick. It’s just a wolf thing.” 

“I know, but…” Michael gestured around helplessly. 

“When was the last time you fed properly?” 

Michael thought for a moment. “The night before Ash went to Hell.” 

Calum pat the seat beside him. 

“I’m not in the mood.” 

“That’s because you’re hungry and cranky ‘cause you’ve only had Ash to feed from for the past few days.” 

Michael wanted to argue, but Calum was right. He’d only been able to have small meals from Ashton since he got back so that they wouldn’t have to buy blood and that always contributed to him being on edge. He took a seat next to Calum. “You sure you’re ready?” 

Calum nodded and unbuttoned his shirt to expose his shoulder. “All healed up.” 

Michael leaned in and inhaled, feeling his fangs grow in anticipation. Already, he could feel his anxiety slipping away. He sank his fangs into Calum’s shoulder, mouth salivating as blood seeped out. 

Groaning, Calum let his head fall back. “Fuck, I missed this.” 

Michael shifted to hold Calum close, taking his time with the dripping blood. If he paced himself, he could drink for hours, his saliva keeping Calum pleasantly lethargic the whole time. He tried to check the next text that came, but Calum fussed about the lack of attention and took his phone, forcing him to just chill the fuck out. 

Focusing on drawing it out, Michael found his irritability melting. Maybe Calum had a gift for getting him to settle down, not that he’d ever admit it. 

Before they knew it, the front door was opening and Ashton and Luke were calling greetings as they came in. Luke flopped down next to Michael on the couch, snuggling up before he could lick up the last of the blood and say hi.

“Hope you’re not wearing him out,” Ashton warned Michael with a smirk as he joined them, putting an arm around Luke, “I want him tonight.” 

“What about me?” Luke whined. 

Ashton smiled and kissed him. “You need to take it easy for me, pup. Want you to be able to last.”

Luke pouted. “I’ve been getting better.” 

“I know, I’m proud of you.” 

Luke grinned. 

“I reckon he’ll be fine,” Michael said, Calum smiling lazily at them, “Maybe better behaved than usual.” 

“Fuck you, I’m always well-behaved,” Calum returned with a grin, “It’ll probably wear off by then anyway.” 

“I want Michael to feed on me too,” Luke complained. 

Michael groaned at the thought. While vampire venom made Calum relaxed and pliant, it made Luke feel dizzy and giggly. It was unbearably cute and Michael couldn’t resist the cuddles that came with it. 

“Later, pup,” Ashton chastised, “You need rest.” 

Luke’s pout shifted and Michael knew he was starting to feel rejected and useless. It was partly a wolf thing, according to Calum, but it seemed to hit Luke much harder than him, often over small things that made him feel worse because he felt _needy._

“Maybe I’ll have a bite of you later,” Michael compromised, hoping to stop Luke’s spiraling before it got that bad, “You can tell me how the appointment went.” 

Luke grinned and snuggled up to Michael, kissing at his neck in joy. 

Ashton gave him a squeeze before standing. “I better get to work, then. See ya.” 

Looking alarmed, Luke made a grabby hand at Ashton. 

Ashton took it and leaned down to kiss him. “I’ll be back tonight,” he promised. 

“Love you!” Michael called as he left.

“Love you too!” Ashton returned. 

Michael turned to ask Luke if he wanted to be fed on yet, but found him slumped against his shoulder, eyes hooded. “You wanna go to bed?”

Luke frowned and looked up at him. “Wanna stay with you guys.” 

“You look tired.” 

He shook his head. “’M not.” 

“You wanna watch Mean Girls?”

“Can we?” Luke asked, looking hopeful. 

“I’ll put it on,” Calum volunteered. Normally he’d fight Luke about it and Michael would make fun of him for liking the movie, but it didn’t seem fair when Luke was so tired. 

As Michael expected, Luke fell asleep quickly, draped across his and Calum’s laps. Michael gently took one of the blankets they kept on the couch and laid it over him.

“It’d suck to not be able to shift,” Calum murmured. 

“Hm?”

He gestured to the TV, where a selkie character was talking about getting their pelt stolen by the bullies. “It must be great to be able to choose when to shift, but if someone took that away…” He shook his head. “It sucks sometimes when it’s inconvenient, but it’s amazing too, you know? I wouldn’t know how to live without it.” 

Michael nodded. Being a vampire, he didn’t completely know what shifting was like, but he knew that Luke and Calum loved it, loved the freedom and bonding with their pack. Or at least Luke _had_ before it got bad. Now he dreaded his shifts, anticipating the pain of shifting back to human. 

Michael stroked Luke’s back. He hoped whatever was wrong could be fixed. Luke deserved to love shifting with Calum and their pack again.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is some angst in this chapter :c but there is some smut as well :D

Michael read over the form Luke had asked him to look at, making sure he’d filled everything out correctly while he examined another one. The blood tests the doctors had Luke going in for every week since that first appointment came with a lot of paperwork, apparently. 

“This one’s good,” Michael told him, setting the form aside and noticing that Luke was chewing on something. He frowned, wondering if Luke had gone to the kitchen for a snack and he somehow hadn’t noticed. “What are you eating?”

Luke froze, locking eyes with Michael. 

Michael narrowed his eyes. “Luke. What’s in your mouth.” 

“Nothing,” Luke mumbled. 

“Open up.”

Luke poked his tongue at him. 

Michael glared at him for a moment before launching himself across the table. He pushed Luke off his chair and wrestled him to the ground, worming his fingers into his mouth as Luke yelled and shoved at his face. Luke squirmed onto his belly and tried to crawl away and Michael hooked a leg around his, letting his full weight hold Luke down. Prying his jaws open, Michael felt around until he found the offending object and pulled it out. 

He stared at the spit-soaked pen cap between his fingers. “Stop eating plastic!” he exclaimed, giving Luke a shove before getting off of him. 

“Blegh!” Luke replied, pretending to gag before sitting up and grinning at Michael. 

Michael rolled his eyes, a smile playing at his lips. “You’re a dumbass.” 

“A delicious dumbass.”

Michael stood. “Not until all these forms are filled out, you’re not.”

Luke pouted and let Michael pull him to his feet. “This is boring.” 

“I know.” Though Michael hoped that their play fight had scratched the wolf itch that demanded wrestles. The responsibility usually fell to Calum since they both needed to channel the pent up energy, but Michael liked to help out with it too. 

“When’s Cal getting home?” Maybe Luke had been thinking similarly. 

“I don’t know.” 

Luke heaved a sigh and sat in his chair. “Is he gonna be okay?” 

“It’s just hair removal, there’s not a lot that can go wrong.” At least, that’s what Michael assumed. They couldn’t accidentally burn a hole in Calum’s arm with the laser, could they? “Besides, he was fine last time. No reason he won’t be now.”

“Should’ve gone with him,” Luke mumbled as he slumped on the table. 

“You cried the first time he got a tattoo and told the artist to stop hurting him,” Michael reminded him. 

“Dude was an asshole,” Luke grumbled. 

Smiling, Michael shook his head. “Hey, what’s this one?” He held up a form he didn’t recognise with what seemed to be questions about wolf stuff. 

Luke took it, brow furrowing as he read it. “They wanna know about my pack.” 

“Do you need Calum to help with that one?”

“No, it’s … it’s asking about my birth pack.” 

“Oh.” 

Luke frowned deeply. “I don’t … I don’t know most of this.”

Michael moved to put an arm around Luke. “Hey, it’s okay.” 

“There’s no one I can ask. I don’t even know what friends they had outside the pack.” 

“Do you wanna take a break?” 

Luke nodded and let Michael take the form and lead him to the lounge room. 

“Do you wanna talk about it?” Michael asked as they sat, Luke curling up in his arms. 

Luke shook his head. He rarely talked about his birth pack. The most Michael had ever heard him say about them was when he turned eighteen and found out that, as the only surviving member, he’d inherited everything they’d had. Michael remembered that there had been a lot of difficulty with contacting the relevant people without giving away where Luke was living now.

“I don’t know anything about them,” he said softly as Michael massaged behind his ear. 

How could he? He’d been five when his pack was slaughtered, the only child to be spared, and he hadn’t been allowed contact with anyone who’d known them since he was put under protection and moved across the country. Nobody knew who had done it or why, all they had was Luke’s description of a man he’d seen that night, and they couldn’t risk him being targeted if anyone found out where he’d been taken. 

When Calum finally got home, Luke raced to the door to hug him, Michael following more slowly.

“It wasn’t that bad,” Calum promised with a laugh as he rubbed Luke’s back, “Still got my arm, see? Just like last time.” He frowned, realising that something was off when Luke didn’t let go. “You okay?” he asked gently as he shot Michael a confused look. 

“Bad day,” Michael told him with a shake of his head. 

“Missed you,” Luke mumbled into Calum’s shoulder.

“I’m here now,” Calum assured him, “You had lunch yet?” 

“I’ll get something,” Michael said, heading to the kitchen. He’d wanted to earlier, but couldn’t bear to leave Luke alone for even a moment after they found that form. 

As Calum sat with Luke, Michael heated up soup for both of them, guessing that Calum would be hungry after his appointment. 

“So how did it go?” he asked him as he returned. 

“Good,” Calum said with a nod, stroking Luke’s back, “Didn’t have any problems with it, should be good for another one next month.” He gave Luke a small smile. “They reckon it’ll affect my wolf form now. That’ll be funny, huh? Big ol’ bald patch on my leg.” 

Luke smiled back and detached from Calum enough to accept a bowl of soup from Michael. His smile faded as he stirred it. “Are there like … genetic … conditions werewolves get?” 

Calum’s eyes flickered to Michael’s before returning to Luke. “Yeah, a few.”

Luke let out a long breath. “They, um … They wanna know if my family had any. I don’t … I don’t know.” 

Calum nodded. “They’ll probably be able to find anything weird in your blood tests anyway,” he assured him, “Don’t worry about it.”

“Okay.” 

Fortunately, Luke’s sadness didn’t cling for the rest of the day, as it often did. It was his turn to feed Ashton and he would have been devastated to miss out, even if Ashton fed on him tomorrow. A quick text from Michael brought him up to speed on Luke’s potentially shaky state and the moment he walked in he was in full pamper mode. 

“You want me to help you out of those clothes, pup?” he asked gently after a _very_ affectionate greeting. 

“Yes please!” Luke agreed, letting Ashton guide him towards the bedroom. 

“You guys coming?” Ashton asked, looking back and Michael and Calum. 

Of course, they both accepted the invitation whole-heartedly. 

Normally when they all fucked together, it was Ashton taking care of the rest of them, or he and Calum teaming up on Michael and Luke. Situations like this called for what Michael had lovingly dubbed their Emergency Caretaking Dynamic, in which three of them give all their attention to whoever needs a pick-me-up. 

In this case, Ashton had Michael and Calum hold Luke down while he carefully edged him. Luke tended not to struggle much, allowing them to make out with him and each other as Ashton praised them all, but when he got close they had to really put some muscle into it. 

“Please, Ashton,” Luke whined as he writhed against Michael’s body. 

Michael tightened the arm he had around his waist, a leg curling around one of Luke’s to spread him open. He didn’t think he had the emotional strength to do it himself, but it was easy to see why Ashton enjoyed denying Luke over and over again. 

“Not yet, baby,” Ashton crooned, pulling his fingers out and kissing his hip, “You’re doing so well for us.”

Tears spilled from Luke’s eyes as Calum mouthed comfortingly at his neck. 

“You gonna fuck him?” Michael asked. 

Ashton climbed up Luke’s body to take his tear-soaked cheeks in his hands. “What do you think? You wanna take me, pup?”

“Yes please,” Luke whimpered. 

“What are you?” Ashton asked. 

“A good boy.” 

Ashton smiled proudly and kissed him. “That’s right. Our good boy.” 

Michael rubbed Luke’s tummy soothingly as Ashton moved down again, shifting to give him room as he pulled Luke’s legs around his waist. 

As it often did when it was the four of them, their fun resulted in a lot of sweat and mess that had Michael running a bath for Ashton to clean Luke up in as he and Calum changed the sheets. 

“I call dibs on the next bad day,” Calum huffed as he stuffed the sheets into the washing machine, wiping sweat and some of Ashton’s slightly pearlescent cum off his body as he did. 

“You could have a breakdown right before your hysto,” Michael suggested. 

“Take everything for a last joyride before that four-to-six weeks of celibacy?” Calum pondered, setting the machine for a warm wash. 

“Fuck, that’s gonna suck,” Michael groaned, “I’m gonna die of … _you_ withdrawal.” 

Calum grinned and stood. “At least you can still have Luke and Ashton.”

“They’ll gang up on me!” Michael complained, “You know I’m weak against them.” 

Calum took his hips and pulled him close. “Just them?” he wondered to Michael’s lips.

“Fuck you,” Michael breathed, slinging his arms over his shoulders and kissing him deeply.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bonus Ashton lore can be found on my blog @tran5rightsos under the #au: unraveled tag :3c


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tysm to everyone who's been reading this and waiting for more :** it means a lot to know people care that much about this fic.

Michael checked his phone, his sunglasses making it hard to see the time. He wouldn’t be _late_ late, but Calum and Luke would definitely be waiting for him. As he stepped into the food court, folding his parasol and taking off his sunnies, he gazed around at the hordes of people and spotted Luke on a bench, holding a bag on his lap and looking at his phone. 

As Michael approached, Luke looked up at him and grinned. 

“Where’s Calum?” Michael asked as he took his black gloves off. 

“Right here.” 

Michael turned to see Calum walking towards them, three pizzas from the pizza place across the food court in his arms. 

“I went ahead and got them, ‘cause you were late,” Calum explained. 

“Fair enough. My boss wanted to go over some stuff before lunch,” Michael explained with an eyeroll. He jumped when he felt something wet on his hand, relaxing when he looked down and saw Luke’s puppy eyes shining up at him. 

“Y’know, there are better ways to hold people’s hands,” he joked, not pulling his fingers out of Luke’s mouth despite the words. 

Luke let go to speak. “My hands are full.” 

Michael tried to peek into the bag he was holding, but Luke clutched it tighter. “What is that?”

“A surprise,” he said with a grin. 

Michael eyed him suspiciously before turning back to Calum. “Let’s find somewhere to eat these, yeah?” 

Calum led them to an empty table on the way over, passing Michael his Bloody Margherita and opening one of the Carnivores to share with Luke. 

“You gonna cry again, Luke?” Michael teased a few slices into his lunch. 

“ _No,_ ” Luke replied petulantly. 

“You promised you wouldn’t,” Michael reminded him. 

“I _won’t._ ”

“Don’t worry, I’ll hold your hand,” Calum offered. 

Luke looked about to thank Calum before realisation struck and he scowled. “It was _one time._ ” 

“So … Every time you’ve tried to emotionally support me for a tattoo?” 

“You guys are cunts.” 

Michael ruffled Luke’s hair. “Yeah.” 

To his genuine surprise, although Luke’s eyes got glassy the moment Calum’s artist, Trisha, called on him, no tears spilled over before Michael had to excuse himself from the tattoo studio and go back to work. His hours were flexible, but he did have a lot of work to do before going home for good. 

By the time he got back to the studio, Ashton was there and holding Luke as he talked about work with Calum and Trisha. 

“I’m pretty sure I’ve never had a client with that much tension,” he told him, flashing Michael a smile as he came in, “It was like working with a brick wall, I’m really hoping he comes back before it gets to that point again.” 

“So you’re a masseuse?” Trisha clarified. 

“Yeah.” 

“You got nice hands.” 

Ashton smiled. “Thank you.”

“Are you nearly done?” Luke asked in a small voice. 

Trisha gave him an amused smile. “Almost.” 

Michael gave Luke’s shoulder a pat as he leaned in to see what she’d done so far. _Choose life._ joined Calum’s collarbones in bold letters and _Why would I want to do a thing like tha_ ran over the scars just below his pecs. 

“Looks sick,” Michael commented. 

“Yeah?” Calum asked. 

Michael nodded. “Sexy.” 

Once Trisha was done, they got a minute to admire her work in the mirror with Calum before she bandaged them up. Calum couldn’t stop smiling on the way home, stoked about finally getting his scars covered up despite the pain. Michael couldn’t stop smiling either. Calum had waited a long time for them to heal enough to get a tattoo over them.

Basking in Calum’s joy, Michael had completely forgotten about Luke’s mysterious bag until he and Calum took them to the lounge room to present it, their excitement almost tangible. Michael let Ashton open it, curious about Ashton’s surprised expression when he looked inside. 

“Wait, are these—” He pulled out a fat envelope and handed it to Michael before reaching back in to carefully slide a framed photo out. 

Michael leaned in to see a beautiful photo of two large wolves posing neatly for the camera. 

“That’s the nicest one we managed to get,” Calum told them, “The rest are just us fucking around, we barely knew what we were doing.” 

Michael opened the envelope and took out a stack of photos, the one on top of Calum and Luke play fighting in their wolf forms. He grinned as he flipped through them. “Guys, these are so _cute!_ ” 

“Really?” Luke asked hopefully. 

Michael pulled him into a one-armed hug. “The cutest.” 

Ashton stood and went to the nearest wall, holding the framed photo up to it. “Where should we put it?” 

As they argued over good places for it, Michael thought he almost felt his heart try to do something.


	6. Chapter 6

“You’re _way_ too excited about this,” Calum commented as he shimmied his jeans down and sat on the toilet lid. 

“T shots makes you horny,” Luke stage whispered, kissing Calum’s cheek and draping himself over his shoulders, which was a really awkward position for two large men trying to fit in the corner of the bathroom, but neither looked uncomfortable.

Calum grinned bashfully and started filling his needle. 

“You gonna get in on this?” Michael asked Ashton as he passed the bathroom, gesturing to them. 

Ashton paused and looked like he was tasting the air. “Oh. Nah, not tonight.” 

He toweled off his freshly trimmed beard. “Just feeding?” 

Ashton nodded. “Might catch up on a show or something.” 

“Hey.” Michael followed Ashton out of the bathroom, pulling him out of hearing distance of Calum and Luke. “Is something up?” he murmured.

Ashton wouldn’t meet Michael’s eyes. “I’m just not feeling it.” 

“Okay,” Michael said with an uncertain nod. Of course he wouldn’t push it, but he couldn’t help but suspect it was something more than _not feeling it._

Unfortunately, he couldn’t just put it out of his mind because Ashton did still have to feed, so that night he took his spot on the armchair they kept in the bedroom for this kind of thing and part of Michael whispered that he was more pointedly ignoring what was happening on the bed than usual. He didn’t look like he was even really watching the show on his laptop, the uncharacteristic tension in his expression worrying Michael even as he tried to focus his attention on Calum and Luke. 

Whatever it was, Michael figured it would be best to ask about it when they were alone, so he let it go until the next afternoon, after he dropped Luke and Calum off with their pack for the full moon. Ashton had gotten home from work by the time Michael got back, pacing in the kitchen with anger simmering in his eyes. He barely acknowledged Michael’s greeting, so he busied himself with making a cup of coffee. 

“I don’t have _sex_ with my _clients,_ ” Ashton snapped at whatever asshole was on the other end, pausing his pacing. 

Michael sighed. It was most likely his boss, Dean. 

Ashton gave a disbelieving scoff and started pacing again. “Of course I don’t have a problem with escorts, but _I don’t do that._ I _never_ have, you just assume I do because I’m an incubus.” 

This time seemed much worse than all the others, Michael thought as he cringed. He’d never heard Ashton directly tell someone that was why they were mistreating him; he always, at the very least, _pretended_ to give them the benefit of the doubt, gave them space to backtrack and correct themselves with little room to act like they’ve been attacked. He had to be fucking pissed to stop giving a shit about that.

“I don’t _seduce_ my fucking clients, deliberately _or_ accidentally.” Something vicious glinted in his eye for a moment, but it was gone before Michael could figure out exactly what it was. “I have to go. Bye.” 

“Dean being an asshole again?” Michael guessed, hoping to defuse _any_ of the tension radiating off of Ashton. 

Ashton set his phone down on the counter with deliberate care, looking like he’d rather pelt it at a window, and leaned heavily on his elbows, raking his fingers through his hair. 

Michael slowly brought a hand to Ashton’s back, gently stroking when he didn’t pull away. “Come on. Talk to me.” 

“I worked so hard to get this job,” Ashton bit, “I wanted to … _help_ people, but every fucking step of the way I’ve been treated like … like I have some kind of ulterior motive. And like I have no _fucking_ self-control.” 

Michael nodded. He was lucky to have a job that allowed him to work on his own, in an industry that a lot of vampires sought jobs in for that reason. He still got shit every now and then, but Ashton couldn’t be as lucky because he loved working with people and feeling like he was having a tangible positive impact on their lives, even if only in a small way. Privately, Michael thought he was also desperate to prove to the world that incubi weren’t just out-of-control sex addicts. 

“What was it this time?” 

“Dean’s decided there’s no way clients can like me that much unless I’m having sex with them. Or, at least, using my _incubus pheromones_ on them.”

Of course, it was all completely baseless. Even if he wanted to fuck clients, Ashton would never justify the stereotype that incubi sleep around to get what they want. Every morning, he put on a strong cologne to mask his scent so that even werewolves would have a tough time figuring out what he was. At work, Ashton would never conduct himself with anything other than the utmost professionalism, partly because that was who he was and partly because he knew he couldn’t afford to fuck up. 

“Dean’s a prick,” Michael said, because he didn’t know what to say to make Ashton feel better, “You’re an amazing masseuse.” 

“Yeah.” 

“None of us think you’re like that,” he tried, “You don’t have to prove anything to us.” 

“I know.” 

“I just … I hate seeing you kick yourself out of our bed,” he explained, “You deserve to be there, regardless of what anyone else thinks. We love you.”

Ashton’s head drooped. “Yeah.”

Michael nodded and pat his back. “Come to bed with me?” 

“Maybe later.” 

“Okay.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At last, a new chapter :3

Technically, Luke didn’t need to work. Michael, Ashton and Calum made enough to comfortably support their household already, and Luke _also_ had everything he’d inherited from his pack, which had included a few family houses Ashton had helped him sell years ago since he was never going to visit them again. His pack hadn’t been rich by any means, but it had been big and it had left him with plenty.

Unfortunately, money didn’t fix what growing up without a pack did to him, didn’t make being on his own in the house he’d bought them all day bearable. The extra cash was nice, but the real reason Luke worked was to keep busy, to stave off the terrifying loneliness that had followed him since he was little. 

Luke’s problems with shifting were starting to threaten that, though. Although Calum had gone back to work three days ago, Luke’s boss had told him to take a few extra days off because he’d nearly thrown up when he tried to go in the day after his appointment with his GP, which Michael felt they probably should have seen coming given that his job was to spin around a pole all day. Now that he was stuck at home, Luke was even more aware of Ashton’s prolonged absence. Of course he’d had to go back to Hell at a time like this. 

Luckily, Michael had a day off today. He peeked into the back room, where Luke was hanging upside down from his dance pole with the air con on high and the music loud. His eyes were closed and he strained to stretch his legs out in a position Michael knew he was normally completely comfortable with as he slowly rotated. 

Michael snuck in and ducked under a leg to Spider-Man kiss Luke as his face passed, feeling him grin. “We should get our nails done,” he suggested, moving out of Luke’s way. 

“What do you mean?” Luke huffed as he twisted his legs around the pole and shifted into a more upright position to talk. 

“I mean we should go to one of those fancy places that use the nail polish that lasts, like, months and get our nails done.” 

“When?”

Michael shrugged. “After you shower.” 

Luke grinned and lowered himself to the floor, breathing hard as Michael went to turn off the music. “Be right there.”

“Take your time,” Michael said, waving him off. He felt like hassling Calum anyway. 

In the master bedroom en suite, he found Calum doing his hair like a nerd. 

“Hey, nerd.” 

Calum glanced at him in the mirror. “What’s up?”

“You’re gay.” 

“Takes one to know one,” Calum replied easily, “I saw you lookin’ my ass earlier.” 

Fuck. He had him there. He’d better get to business as a distraction. 

“Me and Luke are gonna get our nails done, do you want anything?” 

Calum handed him his almost empty tub of hair product. “More of this. There’s a nail place across from the place I get it from, it won’t even be out of your way if you go there. They also have Valgomar, maybe get a few tubs of that too.” 

“A place across from the place you get it from,” Michael repeated, “Where the fuck is that?” 

“The shopping center in town.” 

“Which one?”

“The one we always go to that doesn’t have a Prouds.”

Michael groaned. “What’s the shop _called?_ ” 

Calum gave him an annoyed look. “I dunno, I just go there.” 

Michael groaned louder and left. Maybe Luke would know where to go. 

Once Luke had showered and dressed, he took a detour to the en suite before running out, grabbing Michael’s hand and pulling him to the front door, giggling. 

“What did you do?” Michael asked, glancing back to see Calum emerging from the master bedroom like a pissed bull, his hair slightly mussed. 

“Get out of my house, you skanks!” Calum yelled. 

“Love you!” Michael yelled back. 

“Love you too!” 

“I just kissed him,” Luke fibbed cheekily. 

“Right,” Michael replied, “Do you know where Calum gets his hair stuff?” 

Somehow, Luke knew exactly what shop Calum had meant and directed Michael to a shopping center Michael rarely went to and _did_ have a Prouds, which he pointed out as they rounded the corner to find a nail place across from what looked like a werewolf beauty products place. 

“He could have _mentioned_ it’s a werewolf beauty products place,” Michael huffed, noting to himself that it was called Luscious Summer. 

Luke shrugged and headed into the nail place, finding a display of various shiny things on fake nails. 

Michael picked black for his nails, going along with the suggestions from the lady who did them for what kind of polish he should get. Luke got red gel polish for his, looking pleased with the result when they dried. Although it was way more expensive and better looking than just buying a few bottles of polish and trying to do it themselves, Michael decided that seeing Luke smile at his hands as they left was worth the trip. 

At Luscious Summer, Michael carefully compared Calum’s hair product with the stuff on the shelves for a good ten minutes before giving up and asking someone for help, finding that the packaging had changed a bit and he wasn’t a dumbass after all. 

Luke found the Valgomar and some cologne he wanted to try, following Michael to the counter and dumping the stuff there so he could stare at his nails again. 

“You’re gonna turn into a daffodil,” Michael commented as the guy scanned their stuff. 

“Hm?”

“Like that Greek dude,” he explained as he paid. 

Luke didn’t reply. 

“You know, the one that stared at his reflection in a pond or something? So like the gods turned him into a flower.” Michael glanced at Luke and realised his hands were shaking. “Luke?” 

He wasn’t looking at his nails anymore. He was staring out the shop entrance, terrified. 

“Hey, Luke.” He flinched when Michael tried to put an arm around his waist. “What’s up?”

“It’s him,” Luke said, his voice rough as if he was about to cry. 

Michael looked out at the people walking past. “Who?” 

“He killed my parents.” 

Michael barely registered the shudder that ran through Luke against his own body going cold. He looked out, searching every face for … murderous intent maybe? It took a moment for him to react to Luke disappearing from his grip. He turned in time to see Luke ducking out the door behind the counter, the guy that had served them giving him a confused, “Hey…”

Michael apologised as he followed, casting a furtive glance back to see if the guy Luke had seen was watching as he grabbed their bag of stuff. He didn’t notice anyone weird, but his skin crawled all the same as he looked around the storage room they were in. 

Following the sound of his panicked breaths, Michael found Luke hiding behind a shelf, watching door with wide, glassy eyes. He flinched hard when it opened and Michael looked back to see counter guy peering in. 

“You guys aren’t supposed to be in here,” he told them uncertainly. 

“Sorry, we just need a few minutes,” Michael explained, crouching down to talk to Luke. 

Before he could try, Luke shoved him out of the way and ran to the back door. Michael pushed himself to his feet and followed, wishing he could call Ashton. Fuck, even Calum knew how to talk to Luke better than Michael did, had done it for years before Michael even met them. They’d know what to do. 

By the time Michael caught sight of Luke again, they were outside in a loading bay. Luke was whirling around in panic, probably trying to decide where to run next. Thank _god,_ because Michael knew that if he started running again he’d never catch up with him. 

“Luke!” Michael called as he opened his parasol, squinting against the sunlight.

“We gotta get out of here,” Luke gasped when Michael finally reached him. 

“I know, the car’s not far.” Michael tentatively offered a hand, breathing a sigh of relief when Luke took it. “Come on, he won’t see us if we hurry.” 

To be sure, Michael watched the door they’d come through as they hurried away, but nobody else came through. Maybe they’d lost the man already. 

Luke sank low in the passenger seat as Michael started the car, cursing because he’d forgotten to put his gloves back on and his hands were already burning in the sunlight. Once they were on and he was pulling onto the road, Luke spoke up.

“Don’t go home, he’ll follow us,” he begged. 

“Okay, okay, we’ll go somewhere else.” 

Michael drove randomly as he racked his brain for a safe _somewhere else,_ eventually deciding on a packmate of Luke and Calum’s. He kept making detours on the way there, hoping that it was enough that the guy couldn’t possibly have followed them, and Luke started crying. It was soft at first, just tears and shuddery breaths, but by the time they got to Kirra’s house he was sobbing and puling his hair. 

Kirra was surprised to see them, but welcomed them inside and got Luke a box of tissues as he haltingly tried to explain what happened. Michael sent Ashton and Calum a short text and then took over for him, Kirra’s expression hardening as he spoke. 

“Stay as long as you need,” she told Luke, gesturing to the sofa, “I’ll get you some food.” 

Luke slowly stopped crying as Michael had him breathe with him, something he’d seen Ashton do a few times, probably running out of adrenaline. The reheated pasta Kirra brought him helped too, at least distracting him a bit as Michael prompted him to eat it. 

It was getting dark outside when the doorbell rang, fear rising in Luke’s eyes for a moment before surprise dawned on him. Michael didn’t get a chance to ask what was up before Kirra answered the door and Ashton came in. 

“ _Luke._ ”

Michael stared at Ashton. Drying blood streamed down his face from his forehead and mouth and when he knelt in front of Luke to take his hands, Michael noticed that there was more around his fingernails. 

“Did you get my texts? I came straight here,” he said, eyes on Luke’s face, “What happened?”

“I saw the man that killed my family,” Luke mumbled, “I think we got away though. Can we go home?”

“Yeah, of course,” Ashton replied, standing and pulling Luke to his feet. 

“You look great,” Luke said jokingly. 

“Forgot to shower.” 

Michael licked his fangs irritably when he saw the huge bloodstains dripping from Ashton’s shoulder blades. He’d missed lunch, so of course he’d be thirsty, but now was _not_ the time. Despite Ashton’s shocking appearance, Luke seemed much better as they headed to the car. He curled into his side in the backseat, breathing in his scent, though Michael wondered how he could smell anything other than blood. 

It didn’t matter, he supposed. At least Ashton was there now, a force of comfort Michael could never be. He knew how to help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> >:3

**Author's Note:**

> I run tran5rightsos on Tumblr! Feel free to send asks about this or any of my other 5sos fics!


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